You knew the little general was going to get a job somewhere this summer. Looks like he got a prime one.

ESPN’s Marc Stein is reportingvia twitter that the Nets have reached a verbal agreement with Avery Johnson on a contract to become their next head coach. The talks didn’t last long, which is not a shock as this is ultimately a negotiation with a billionaire, it probably wasn’t hard to reach a number Johnson is comfortable with.

The Hawks are said to still have interest in Johnson but they moved at a deliberate pace, and Johnson has found where he wants to be.

The Nets wanted a guy who knew how to win ad Johnson had success as a coach in Dallas, winning coach of the year in 2005 and taking the team to the NBA finals in 2006 (only to run into the Dwyane Wade machine). For the past couple of years he has been an analyst with ESPN.

Going to the Nets would reunite Johnson with point guard Devin Harris. This is a team that has a few good pieces, a new owner willing to spend, a lot of cap room and is moving to a new building in Brooklyn in a few years. This is a team on the rise and a great place to be coach right now. So long as the Nets start winning. Soon.